TCracingCA

At the most recent Carlisle this car was displayed with Harry Mann Dealership decals after years and years of claims that it was a Dana Chevrolet out of South Gate bought car! What's up? Since the passing of the Owner and the recent transition of Ownership, has new information been uncovered? From what I remember, this car had all of the Dana paperwork and was documented! I was thinking of sharing my invoice with the previous Owner of #92 for format because mine was not from the Dealership, but from the High Performance lot (used car department). Thus my invoice would be different from what I assumed was with this #92 Hill car. Thus mine isn't an actual Dana 1st sold car, but was resold thru their performance lot on the other side of the street. That is the smaller building with the glass windows that sometimes shows up in pictures and I have yet to find a good picture of the big parent Dealership (just the small bad picture that has run around for years). This isn't meant to imply anything. This is one of my favorite cars of all time and I have talked to the Owner (Dewars) at length about this car. I just would like to see that it is well taken care of and stays historically pure, which I think will be the 100% goal of the Current Owner's (Kevin Mackay). This Harry Mann badging throws me, because maybe it might have raced on that sponsorship, I just can't remember seeing ever any picture of it with Harry Mann association and there is no mention of it in the Corvette Registry write-up with Harry Mann either to date, but maybe soon to be added thanks to Mackay!

62Jeff

I don't understand your question.

TCracingCA

I finished the post with everything and added the picture. But the question might be as simple as did John Hill run under Harry Mann Sponsorship and the new Owner just wanted to display it with that? It threw me, seeing it with Mann decals when it was a Dana chevrolet car. Now I am wondering if it was just bought at Dana, and then sponsored race by race by whoever was willing to help with expenses. So did Harry Mann become the primary sponsor? I just don't remember seeing it racing like it was displayed at Carlisles. I also thought that I had every picture of this car as it was campaigned over the years since it is one of my favorite all time Corvettes.

TCracingCA

It is always quicker to just come on the forum, because of the knowledge here. When I get time, I know I have some race programs showing the Mann sponsored cars at some races and I also remember John Hill in some of the books and might be able to see who he was sponsored by at only certain periods of time that correlate to just the limited information that I have collected over time which definitely can never grow to answer all of my questions. I was a kid at these Riverside and west coast races and mostly just remember the car was blue, as I remember McLaren's being orange!

gbvette62

I don't know the answer, but I would guess that Harry Mann was willing to step up and provide sponsorship money, where as Dana Chevrolet wasn't.

As a racer, you take money from where ever you can get!

TCracingCA

Was anyone there that saw whether it was from Dana or Mann Chevrolet. I am pretty sure this was a Dana bought car and that Mann might have thrown some sponsorship!

gbvette62

The car was sold new through Dana. Dick Guldstrand was the salesman. The L-88 was sent out to Traco, and Dana prepped the car for racing.

I don't know why it now has Harry Mann Chevrolet on it. There is pictured of the car racing, in the book "Corvette Racing Legends: The Story of the L-88 Option Package". In the picture, there is no sponsorship on the car. I'd guess that at some point, Hill made a deal with Harry Mann, to put their name on the side of the car.

sub006

Harry Mann Chevrolet's longest-running sponsored driver was Andy Porterfield AIR. Doesn't mean Mr. Milne didn't provide assistance to other racers.

TCracingCA

I am glad to hear that it is still an original Dana Chevrolet car, because I am starting to think that this Dealership is a fictious place that never sold a car based on every car that surfaces being Slandered or disproven. The #9 LeMans car is pretty solid, but have never seen a Sales receipt or invoice on that one (not that anyone has to show it to me). Even with most of the Camaro's, there is alot of controversy as to the known ones being real Dana. This dealership had former Scarab racing crew guys, along with former Shelby America employees, then the famous or soon to be famous list of the Drivers etc. so it was an interesting place back in the late 1960's. They had a big Dealership Lot


and the address for the large dealership as on this Shelby invoice is 8730 Long Beach (east side of the street and to the north).

and then a smaller high performance lot on the other side of the street to the South at 9735 Long Beach that could house around 50 cars (and yes they sold Shelby's also).

I have one picture where they were selling an Iso Grifo with a 427 out of the performance showroom.


And here is a picture nobody has that I found in a High School yearbook.


Thus since the Dealership and Hi-po shop were around from late 1966 at least September approx. to mid to late 1969?, cars had to have been sold out of there. I am also starting to think since hardly any still exist, that they all were so fastly tuned, that they must have all wrecked and none are still around. They are all in the junk yards crashed.
I know that there are 3 or 4 variations on the license plate frames, because more of these seem to exist than actual cars.
Thus glad that another claimed Dana Car is still a Dana and that the new Ownership of Mackay hadn't uncovered something here since the transfer of title that led to it being a Mann sold car (just sponsored). Whew!

65hihp

Actually,
where it was first sold was or is not really a life or death question. More important in my mind is that it still exists, and people can see and marvel at it thanks to the generousity of the current caretaker. If he wanted to write Harry Mann or Dana Chevy on the side or "sponsored by kevin" is mildly interesting.
Thank you Mr. Mackay.

TCracingCA

Each of us picks things that interests them. Dana Chevrolet interests me and if it all is only mildly interesting to you, don't add negatively to my Thread and avoid posting! But I respect your observation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. I guess I am cluttering up the C1 and C2 forum listing by keeping this near the top with my additions and from additions by a few others. Oh, by the way, thanks for posting, it put it right back up to the top and now again from this reply. Thus maybe I should post on C2 radio capacitors or lug nuts which might be more interesting.
PS your commit came across kind of negative in the quote. If you didn't mean any negativity, then I will be the first to apologize.

Also the reason why topics are discussed, is that sharing occurs and some pieces of history or information that others have, sometimes gets out for others. John Hill lived in Huntington Park which is the City just to the north of South Gate and so the decals of the electrical shop are very interesting. Also Dana Chevrolet was closed down and this car kept racing, so it is extremely and entirely a high probability that Mann could have thrown sponsorship. I know the SCCA up to a certain year, would not allow advertising. Also it is always an interesting perspective as to why a subsequent Ownership choose a certain time of it's life point for display or restoration. Such as with Grandsport Corvettes, I wish one was still in the first Nassau configuration and I think the #12 Convertible is in the prototype paint and trim currently instead of in the race trim. Also regarding this car, if it had sponsoring then it may have raced at a higher than SCCA level maybe. I could probably pull together alot of pieces to its history myself, but over time have just collected a tidbit here or there and have no need to really organize it. I look for stuff for the documentation of my own Car is my motivation about any dealership involvement etc. and have concurrently come up with info on other notable Corvettes, which is interesting and entertaining while I go through the process. Also behind the Grandsports, the SR-2, the 1957 SS, maybe the 1960 LeMans cars, these 1967 L-88's are probably in the very top of the all time most valuable Corvettes of all time and of great historical interest.